**City Announces Comprehensive Evaluation Results of Six Major Areas**
**Medical, Safety, Livelihood, Education Improvements**
**Housing and Social Integration Declined Compared to Previous Year**
Seoul City announced on the 4th that last year’s “Companion with the Disadvantaged Index” was recorded at 130.6, marking a rise for the second consecutive year following the first evaluation in 2023 (at 111).
The “Companion with the Disadvantaged Index” is an indicator developed by Seoul City in October 2023 to quantify the effectiveness of policies supporting the disadvantaged. It is composed of six major areas and 50 detailed indicators: livelihood and care, housing, medical and health, education and culture, safety, and social integration. Using the reference value of 100 from 2022, the year the companion plan was announced, a score higher than 100 indicates improved policy effectiveness, while a lower score signals underperformance.
Among the six areas, medical and health (156.5), safety (148.9), livelihood and care (127.8), and education and culture (111.3) showed an increase compared to the previous year. However, housing (120.3) and social integration (95.6) showed a decline.
The medical and health area saw the largest increase compared to 2023 (120.1). Seoul City attributed this improvement to responses to societal risks such as population aging and issues like dementia and mental health.
Social integration was the only area scoring below 100, continuing this trend for two consecutive years after recording 97.9 in 2023. Seoul City analyzed that this was due to declining social trust, which was exacerbated post-COVID-19, impacting certain indicators such as volunteer participation rates and donation experiences.
Seoul City emphasized the need to restore trust among citizens and encourage voluntary participation in social contribution activities to improve the social integration index.
Seoul Planning and Coordination Office Head, Jeong Sang-hun, stated, “We will continue expanding changes in daily life that citizens can feel and meticulously address unnoticed blind spots to steadfastly continue our journey with the disadvantaged.”
Meanwhile, the comprehensive “Companion with the Disadvantaged Index” announced by Seoul City can be found on the Seoul City website and the Seoul Information Platform Smart Seoul View.